At Ordsall Primary School, we believe that children should be given the opportunity to develop their skills to make, create and problem solve as part of a wider education to harness transferrable skills needed for employment in the 21st Century.  The ‘Maker{School}’ programme provides opportunities for children and teachers to expand our Design and Technology curriculum to harness the skills, knowledge and mindsets needed for the future – we are excited to be inspiring the next generation of creators, innovators and problem solvers through the Maker{School} programme!

This innovative programme will provide children at Ordsall Primary School with the skills, knowledge and mindset to create projects and solve real world problems using a range of high- and low-tech tools, materials and specialist technologies.  As well as developing the knowledge and skills to create, make and mend things, children will also be encouraged to be creative and think critically through a nurturing mindset which focuses on the process of problem solving, not producing an end product. 

Although the Maker{School} programme is closely linked to STEM subjects, we believe that it can enhance learning across all areas of the curriculum and that it puts the child at the centre of the learning.  As well as developing team building and problem-solving skills, children will be supported to be innovative and creative to apply their knowledge to independent designs. 

Building on our previous “Think like an Engineer” project, which was closely linked to science, we will be encouraging children to “think like a maker”.  Maker{School} is a ‘learn by doing’ enquiry based approach, done through exploration, skill builders and tinker time.  The key skills and knowledge have been divided into five key areas:

• Materials & tools
• Computing, coding and robotics
• Digital literacy
• 3D/design and fabrication
• Electronics

We will be working alongside Sheffield University to achieve our bronze Maker{School} award, which supports schools to develop maker-centred learning.